Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Its Magic, Myth, and Ritual

This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 6 6—5326 JONES, Shirley Jean, 1936— SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT: ITS MAGIC, MYTH, AND RITUAL. The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1966 Language and Literature, general } University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT: ITS MAGIC, MYTH, AND RITUAL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in paurtlal fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY SHIRLEY JEAN JONES Norman, Oklahoma 1965 SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT: ITS MAGIC, MYTH, AND RITUAL APPROVED BY f4 . DISSERTATION COMMITTEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To Professor Rudolph C* Baasbas for his guidance and his patience; To my Committee for the time and advice graciously ex tended me; To the English faculty, whose encouragement and Instruc tion have served to see me through my study at the University of Oklahoma; To Oklahoma Baptist University and my friends there, who have shown me every courtesy; And of course to my family, who have given much and received little, I can only echo Gawaln: Graunt mercy, per Kryst hit yow for^elde. Ill t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..................... 1 II. G A W A I N .............. 26 III. BBRCILAK............................. 59 IV. MORGAN LE F A Y ........................ 82 V. THE CLIMATE.................. 102 VI. THE SYMBOLS.......................... 129 VII. CONCLUSION........................... 152 BIBLIOOIAPHY.................................. 166 Iv SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT; ITS MAGIC, MYTH, AND RITUAL CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION There is magic in sir Gawain and the Green Knight, magic of the kind that a witch etnd a weurlock, a Morgan le Fay and a Merlin, could conjure up with spells and incanta tions, and an older magic, too: a magic that had to do with a primitive dependence on the land that was not tempered with any bit of sophisticated knowledge of the workings of nature, and so man had to depend on ritual and myth to make up for the knowledge he lacked. The other kind of magic is a sort that the modern reader can succumb to, for it is no thing short of miraculous that a work by an unknown poet of the fourteenth-century, written in a difficult provincial dialect, should survive and be read, studied, and argued over by twentieth-century students. There have been various studies, often unrelated, of the ways in which the poet uses the magic that belongs to the various streams which have flowed into the legends to maintain unity of structure and diversity of characterization. Because there are several distinct "problems" connected with this romance, some of the studies have been rebuttals of other critics' findings; many “ 2“ have turned their efforts to tracing analogues and other parallels existing in the related literatures. Many of the controversies will, it is more than likely, never be re solved, because we are dealing with a work of art which has already proved itself enduring, and much of that endurance is a result of several levels of interpretation. The artis tic wealth that is the end of the Gawain-poet*s labors can either dazzle the reader who comes on it, as Gawain did the Castle Hautdesert in the midst of a dark wood, or disappoint him when he discovers that someone else has seen it from a different direction. But several different views are avail able to the curious reader, and it will be this paper's pur pose to explore some of these avenues. A major problem involves the whole element of magic which exists in the romance as it is a part of the structure, as the Gawain-poet has woven into it the character of Gawain, the Christian knight-errant, father of courtesy and chaste behavior. One must ask oneself at the onset what the poet was attempting: obviously he set out to tell a story which would delight, which indeed must have enthralled his audience. But true to the Instincts of the medieval mind, he meant also to instruct his receptive readers. Christian thinking was too much a part of the life of the Middle Ages for the pagan (or magic) and Christian elements not to mix more easily than they do in Beowulf, for example. Yet there is division enough to allow little cracks to appear in the cement of this "» 3-" romance, cracks which have widened ominously by the time Gawain and Bercllak meet In the valley of the Green Chapel. The nature of the protagonist, Gawain the brave, the courteous, the modest young knight, Is not always so simple as It seems. His modesty and good manners, as he asks leave of his uncle to answer the challenge of the Green Knight, are normal, Indeed conventional aspects of the superior knight. On the other hand, Gawain*s convic tions as to the extent of his obligation not only to his host but to himself In fending off the Importunate lady are very odd In the light of the Camelotlan sexual adven tures which were becoming more spectaculaur and more a part of every knightly quest, even though Klttredge has shown that chastity and obedience were an Important aspect of the beheading game of earlier stories. Another problem Is, of course, Bercllak himself. Is he merely the pawn of Morgan? Did the Gawain-poet really Intend us to see the entire Intricate plot as one of the many schemes Morgan had In mind to bring about the Round Table's undoing? Or Is our first picture of the green half- giant as he strikes terror In the banquet hall In Arthur's castle the real one: a powerful wizard whose role from the beginning Is that of a tester, a ruler-judge whose Ideas of justice are tempered with mercy? Bercllak Is, on the face of things, a superior being both as the gigantic axeman who challenges Arthur and his knights and as the Host who, as huntsman. Is first In bravery and In craft. He represents the "evil" or antl-Gawaln forces only as he admits himself the tool of Morgan le Fay: he credits her with his inhos pitable behavior in throwing Gawain in the way of terrible temptation from his wife and, presumably, from his servant who urges Gawain to turn and flee from the fate that awaits him at the Green Chapel. The duality of characterization, necessary from the standpoint of plot alone, is most interest ing and most revealing of the abilities of the poet when Gawain and Bercllak are seen not only as antagonistic forces but also as contrasting types of the same basic creature: the chivalrous knight. A third problem is the "loathly lady," Morgan le Fay's characterization. This problem is only too clear to anybody who has ever taught the poem in an introductory literature course, for the confusion which inevitably accom panies an undergraduate's reading of this romance is height ened when he struggles with an identification of Bercllak*s lady as temptress and Morgan le Fay as instigator. More of ten than not, footnotes notwithstanding, the student's firm conviction is that the Host's wife is Morgan, and the logic of this mistake is unfortunately all too clear. There are ramifications to the loathly lady idea here, and the corre lation between pagan goddess and Christian demon is undeni able, as is that duality which exists in the host's nature. The continuing controversy involves Morgan le Fay's artistic credibility, is she merely an appurtenance to aid the poet when he ties the last strings of his plot together, a left over from the old Celtic tales of Waltraln? Does she stand as the connection between the beheading game and the temp tation, an ^ machina convenience only? An examination of both sides of the arguments can contribute something to the understanding of the mechanics of the poem as well as to the nature of the three main characters. Still another problem which Interests the modern reader has to do with the environment, or climate. In which the courtly protagonist and antagonist operate. It Is ap parent from the first that the Gawain-poet Is working In the English tradition as seen In the lyrical passages which des cribe the field and forest of Gawain*s grueling quest and the Host's hunts. Indeed, one customarily cites as an example of the poet's unusual writing excellence his ability to deal summarily with the temptation to digress and talk about the knight's adventures before he reaches Bercllak*s castle. But there Is more than meets the eye as Gawain wanders here and there, coming Inevitably to those walls behind which his fate will be decided. The very situation of the castle In relation not only to the cold and drear wood but to the for bidding valley and the terms which the poet calls on to des cribe the aspects of the story have a kind of conscious am biguity which we cannot Ignore as we trace the strands of magic which Intertwine and sometimes overcome the m o d e m or Christian theme. Some of the parallels and contrasts have to do with the very twistings and turnings of the story It- s.lfi others seem Included simply for «Aellishment and for •*6— the evocation of the correct mood which the poet wishes In his audience before he moves Into further Incident. These are the problems, at least readily seen ones, and all of them have In common a mysterious duality In which magic or myth of the most primitive kind goes hand In hand with the conventional Christian antl-maglcal outlook which one might expect from a fourteenth-century poet whose educa tion must have been outstanding and whose viewpoint was sophisticated.

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